The Gift of God, part 3

How would your life have to change if you were absorbed with developing the gift of God within you? Would you finding yourself studying the Bible more? Would you be praying more? Would you be more aware of your neighbor’s needs? To be absorbed with something means it has saturated you. it is your passion; it is what you think about the most. You might even wear sweat-shirts and T-shirts with the logos of your gift. Just think of how things would change if we wore things about our gifting with the same pride we wear our favorite teams logos!

There is nothing wrong with wearing your favorite team’s logo… unless you refuse to wear something that states your faith in equal measure. Just think of the money we will spend on hobby’s and yet refuse to invest in the development of the gift of God within you. What is your gift? Is it serving? Then invest in it with your time and your money. Do something about it: it is what God has endowed you with so that your life will count for eternity. 
 

Many people come to me and say something like, “I tried to do something for God but the church just doesn’t have a place for me, or they just don’t need me right now.” That is part of the problem with Christianity in America: we think the only place to serve God is within the four walls of this building. But the truth is that this is only one place where you can serve God - and it is actually the least of the places where God wants to use you. The church building is meant to be a filling station, a resource facility, a place of nurture and refreshing – but it’s only the place of service for a handful of God’s ministers. 
 

I have another friend who was told me about a man in his church who has developed a passion for specific prayer. He said, “We currently have a man in our church that is stirring up his gift and is getting up every morning at 3:00 a.m. to pray. He prays until God gives him a picture in his mind of someone to pray for. Then he asks the Holy Spirit to give him a Scripture verse for this person. Later in the day he calls that person, asking if he can pray for them and then gives them the verse. More than once, the verse he has given them has been the perfect word for them to hear that day – including some people who do not know the Lord – yet these are the verses that the Holy Spirit gave him. God gave him a verse for them – and in one case it has already caused a man to get back into church attendance and pursuing the Lord.” 

Wow! How powerful is that?! What is your gift? Are you stirring it up? Pursuing more of it to be used in and through your life? If God has taken you as a minister and disguised you as a laborer, then your place of ministry is not here in this building; this is merely where you come each week to learn and be discipled and encouraged. From here, go out and do your ministry! 
 

Why is it critical that we kindle the gift?

The question needs to be asked, “Why is this issue so critical?” If we go back to the last part of 1 Timothy 4:15 we find the answer: “Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress may be evident to all.” We are to take pains and be absorbed with the re-kindling of our gifts so that our progress becomes evident to all. God wants our growth in spiritual things to be obvious to the world around us.

Evidence of growth in our own lives is also a means of testifying that what Jesus has done for us, He can do for others.

Continued tomorrow